For any special account, alias, or other such accounts where the customer has the opportunity to choose a name for the account, some basic guidelines should be followed. The purpose of this policy is to eliminate confusion and to ensure that account names match functional purposes.

The name of any account should be related to its intended purpose. Examples provided below are not exhaustive for all account types that are available through Information Technology. The examples are provided to illustrate appropriate naming approaches only.
Examples:

A departmental special account for the College of Engineering's IT Department
Appropriate name: EngIT
Naming restrictions: account names are limited to 8 alphanumeric characters or less; no special characters may be included in the name

An email only account for an introductory COSC class
Appropriate name: COSCINTROCLASS
Naming restrictions: there are no character limitations; the name may contain special characters

A departmental alias for the Accounting Office department’s manager
Appropriate name: ACCTMGR
Naming restrictions: there are no character limitations; the name may contain special characters

If an account has both a name and a display name they should match as closely as possible.
Example:

A special account named LIBTRAIN for The Library's Training Center
Appropriate display name: Library Training Center
The display name may contain spaces and does not have a limitation on the number of characters.

Information Technology reserves the right to deny any request. IT will work with the customers to determine appropriate naming schemes.

Is a person who is not paid by the university eligible to receive a UW account?

Academic Affairs developed a process for the request and review of the following types of Academic Affairs appointments: Adjunct, Academic Affairs Special, Researcher, Visiting Faculty, Lecturer, and Off Campus Program (Outreach). These accounts are full accounts with email and network access. Approved accounts are free to the department.

Each College Dean’s Office is aware of the process to follow to request one of these accounts. Contact your College Dean’s Office for further information.

Personally paying for a special account

UW special accounts cannot be paid for by personal means. UW special accounts will be included in each department’s monthly telecommunications bill.